TP&EE Portland Will Be Held September 30 – October 2, 2020

The next Timber Processing and Energy Expo (TP&EE) will be held September 30-October 2, 2020 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon. This will be the fifth biennial TP&EE to be produced by Hatton-Brown Expositions, LLC, an affiliate of Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. and TimberProcessing and Panel World magazines. All of the events have been held at the Portland Exposition Center.

More than 1,600 representatives of 110 wood products producer companies and hundreds of individual lumber, veneer, plywood and engineered wood products mills registered for the 2018 TP&EE. They came from 38 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces and 19 countries. They viewed 200 exhibitor companies who displayed their equipment and technologies on more than 60,000 SF of booth space in a sold-out Hall E.

Duane Vaagen, president of Vaagen Bros. Lumber in Colville, Wash., echoed the feelings of many attendees: “The show in Portland is the greatest way to get new ideas and clarify your visions for the future. What I benefited most from was seeing the latest and greatest technology. It’s like visiting over 100 sawmills in less than three days. After seeing all the machinery as well as demonstrations it takes more than a month to wrap my mind around what I just saw as well as where it all blends together for future opportunities.”

Doug Pauzé, senior vice president, operations, for British Columbia-based Coastland Wood Industries, added, “I think it is extremely important to stay on top of the latest and greatest tools for our industry. Typically, each time we attend TP&EE, we find something that we can bring back to our facilities to help improve how we operate.”

A post-show survey of exhibitors revealed that 82% of the exhibitors reported they possibly gained an order or did indeed confirm an order due to their participation at TP&EE.

Event producer Hatton-Brown Expositions and on-site service providers scored extremely high with the 2018 exhibitors in a post-show survey. The location of TP&EE at the Portland Expo Center also continues to score very high. The major reason why is that it’s spacious and quick for exhibitors to set up and tear down. Meanwhile it’s easy for attendees to reach, and parking is in abundance.

The 2020 exhibitor space renewal program is beginning in February 2019. Exhibitors in the 2018 show are being e-mailed new contract information. Meanwhile, the 2020 attendance promotions team is already at work.

Though the 2018 event was sold out in Hall E, organizers plan to add more booth space in 2020 so that there’s no waiting list.

The Portland show has always been heavy to the lumber industry, but organizers have continued to push for more involvement from the panel and engineered wood products sector. Twenty-six such producer companies were in attendance.

BC-based ATCO Wood Products CEO Scott Weatherford comments, “TP&EE is a great opportunity to network with colleagues from all over the industry in a setting where we can see and discuss the latest technology and listen to some insightful presentations about new and developing topics such as the emerging mass timber sector. It’s well worth our time to attend each time.”

In addition to the action on the expo floor, TP&EE hosted two day-long workshops, one on Mass Timber and the other on Lumber Manufacturing.